By popular demand, Hanson Road stays open

Hanson Road, the unofficial shortcut between routes 47 and 64 in Lily Lake, will remain open as a result of "overwhelming" opposition to its proposed closure, officials said Wednesday.

"The public hearing did its job," Village President Jesse Heffernan said, referring to last Friday's meeting on the issue. "It was overwhelming support to keep it open."

The village proposed closing Hanson Road because of concerns from nearby homeowners, including Heffernan, about the increasing number of drivers using the roughly 1-mile stretch as a shortcut.

But the plan generated its own concerns from dozens of other villagers who worried it would add several miles to their daily commutes at a time when gas already costs more than $4 a gallon.

"Some were afraid it would actually decrease the values of their homes," although local real estate agents say otherwise, Heffernan said.

The decision means Lily Lake cannot move forward with a tentative plan to build a parking lot partly on Hanson Road, at least as it was originally proposed.

The lot would have served the village by blocking all but non-emergency traffic on the road and providing extra parking for the nearby Great Western Trail and other public areas in the Kane County Forest Preserve District.

Heffernan said the village will continue working with preserve officials on alternatives that do not involve closing the road entirely.